While most bowlers will be vying to become the winner of the 2017 South Pacific Bowling Carnival, Australian bowler Jerry Janik is enjoying the good company more than anything else.

The 57-year-old from New South Wales has been attending the carnival for eight years now and said good company, friendship and the competition keeps him coming every year.

“The carnival has been really good, I have enjoyed every year of it, even though it has been raining the good competition makes up for that,” Janik said.

“Friends of mine in Australia told me about the carnival and I decided to come in 2009 and I have been coming ever since.

“I have enjoyed it and played against players with a high calibre and from different backgrounds.

“The thing that keeps me coming back is the friendships, the people and the good time paired with good competition.

“At first I used to have the aim of winning it one day but now I don’t mind if I don’t really win, it is not about winning for me, I think I already win just by being here.

“Rain, hail or storm I don’t think nothing will stop me from coming here each year to be a part of this amazing competition.”

Janik said the other aspect of playing in Fiji is the different greens we have here compared to what the play on back home.

“Our greens in Australia are much quicker than here and it is really challenging and you have to take the good with the bad,” he said.

“I think that is another thing that makes the competition here interesting, everyone comes down because of the challenge of playing on the greens here.

“While we are so used to fast greens back home, it is different here and that adds to the competition.

“It has been really great and I look forward to the rest of the week.”

Edited by Osea Bola

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